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Posh in Park City

Last week I had to go to Park City for my chapter of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists’ annual golf outing.

This year we extended this event into a two-day affair with scientific lectures and dinner at Ruth’s Chris the evening before, which meant that I pretty much had no choice but to stay in Park City for a night. It was a big sacrifice, certainly one for the record books. Yes, I gave up a night of hanging out at my house to vacation in a luxury cottage suite at the Hotel Park City with Jason. (Jason selflessly volunteered to come with me even though this was not his clan of geeks. What a thoughtful husband, right?)

Our cottage was on the banks of a tranquil pond. I wish
Our cottage was on the banks of a tranquil pond. I wish I would have had more time to enjoy this serene setting.

The board for our SCC chapter, which I am a part of, arranged for killer rates on some of the fancier rooms at the Hotel Park City during our event. Since I needed to stay in Park City regardless, I was more than happy to take advantage of these deals. I’ve stayed at the Hotel Park City before so I was expecting a nice room but man! Our luxury cottage suite was the bomb! It had a big sitting room, a fully equipped kitchen, a dining area, two bathrooms, a massive master bedroom suite, and a patio equipped with a gas fireplace and our own private Jacuzzi hot tub. Additionally there were giant LCD TVs and gas fireplaces in the master bedroom and the sitting room. Yeah, sweet! The view from our cottage was also fabulous. Our suite was on the edge of a quiet pond and its giant windows afforded a great view of the wandering ducks with their ducklings and the jumping fish. The slopes of the Park City Resort ascended in the distance adding to the picturesque scenery. I think I could get used to that kind of living…only I really shouldn’t because who knows when we will stay in a room this plush again.

I haven't played gold in over 15 years so I thought
I haven't played golf in over 15 years so I thought choosing to participate in the SCC golf tournament might be a mistake...a mistake my poor team would pay for. But I actually had a great time and didn't suck as much as I thought I would.

Since I wasn’t in our room much, thanks to the nonstop SCC activities, Jason was the one that truly got to enjoy our posh space. He didn’t seem to mind being left alone in this lavish sanctuary. He spent the hours reading a book out on the patio, playing some StarCraft II, and lounging in the sitting room.

This giant building
This giant building was our "cottage". It housed four suites.

Though I didn’t get much of a chance to appreciate our splendid cottage I did find enough time in the evening to hop in the Jacuzzi with Jas and burn holes in the backside of my board shorts by the patio fire. Yup, I discovered that that magic fabric that dries so fabulously when you hop out of the lake does not handle heat well. Sadly, I ruined my favorite pair of board shorts discovering this little known fact. Oh well, maybe I can start a revealingly holey fashion trend.

I was
I wasn't around our room much but Jason managed to snag this picture in the little bit I was.

Our quick trip to Park City was a nice little outing, though it was way too busy for me to call it relaxing, but I think Jason found it quite mellow and refreshing. I hope our monstrous suite didn’t ruin normal hotel rooms for him forever though; he was already a bit of a hotel snob so I’m sure our cottage did nothing but further this pickiness. Many thanks to the SCC for making my husband even snootier.

Rachel September 2, 2010 No Comments

Give ‘Em the Bird

Shawn, another coworker of Jason’s from India, is currently out here in Utah for the first time. We couldn’t let him leave the state without spending a while in our beautiful mountains so we took him on a little excursion to Snowbird Resort. Prafulla, Jason’s last visitor from India, we also took to Snowbird but in the middle of a snowstorm so he didn’t get to enjoy the practically perfect weather and blossoming hillsides that Shawn did.

Shawn enjoyed his first alpine slide ride
Shawn enjoyed his first alpine slide ride ever but he seemed a little disappointed that it didn't zoom him down the mountain faster.

We got all day activity passes so we could spend the day hanging on the slopes…and hang we did. We rode the alpine slides and zip rider first. Then we took the tram up to the top of Hidden Peak. Unlike the last time we were at this peak with Prafulla, there was no blizzard swirling the spectacular view into a sea of white so the grandeur of the surrounding mountains could be properly appreciated.

The view from Hidden Peak was pretty impressive.
The view from Hidden Peak was pretty impressive. With three separate valleys sprawling out below you it felt a bit like being on top of the world.
The scenery at the top
The scenery at the top of Hidden Peak was gorgeous. The far spreading green was interspersed with the bright colors of mountain flowers and the rusty texture of stone.

From Hidden Peak we went on a little hike along the ridge overlooking Mineral Basin and Gad Valley. Although Utah’s dry summers have usually scorched most of the green out of the landscape by this time in August, the hillsides were surprisingly still very lush and fresh with dainty purple, white, yellow, and red wild flowers punctuating the green strewn slopes. It was actually quite charming.

I think the men were trying to look tough
I think the men were trying to look tough and victorious here. Did they succeed?

After we rode down from the peak we decided to check out the ropes course. The ropes course looked rather pathetic from the ground but once you were up there among the tightropes and tricky obstacles the fact that you were safely strapped into a harness didn’t stop your heart from pounding away.

The ropes course was a little nerve racking until I got
The ropes course was a little nerve racking for me until I got used to the height. I definitely didn't miss my calling as a trapeze artist.
Jason is happy to pose moronically for a
Jason is happy to pose moronically for a picture below or above ground.

Shawn was excited about riding the mechanical bull like an American cowboy but he was concerned that it would make him sick so we saved this activity for last. We all had a go on the bull but we were no match for those iron innards; none of us were able to stay long on its motorized hide.

The mechanical bull proved to be a difficult
The mechanical bull proved to be a difficult adversary. None of us could keep our hind ends on it for long.

Luckily, the bull didn’t buck away Shawn’s appetite so we stopped at The Pie on the way home to give him a taste of some real American cuisine: Italian pizza. Shawn was more than happy to eat pizza as long as it was loaded with plenty of meat, which apparently isn’t plentiful enough in Indian food for his taste.

Shawn apparently thinks India is meat deprived
Shawn apparently thinks India is meat deprived and is trying to make up for a lifetime of lack while he is here in the U.S.

Shawn seemed to enjoy his time up at Snowbird and, unlike Prafulla, he didn’t have to worry about his fingers freezing off. That’s sure to increase anyone’s level of enjoyment.

Rachel August 18, 2010 No Comments

Arches, Bluffs, and Canyons

Jason and I just got back from Moab. We had a great time, as we always do when we visit that region.

Blue skies and red rock: Moab is gorgeous!
Blue skies and red rock: Moab is gorgeous!

We took our mountain bikes down with us and tested them out on the demanding paths to Klondike Bluffs and Hidden Canyon.

The entire desert seemed to be in bloom. Surprising bunches of red, pink, yellow, and whited dotted the landscape.
The entire desert seemed to be in bloom. Surprising bunches of red, pink, yellow, and white dotted the landscape.

The Klondike Bluffs trail took us over some pretty steep slickrock, which was lined with prehistoric dinosaur tracks, to the bluffs high above Arches National Park. It was a fantastic and tiring ride.

Do you see that grin on Jason
Do you see that grin on Jason's face? That comes from speeding over delicious slickrock at a dizzying rate.

Our journey to Hidden Canyon turned out to be more eventful than anticipated. The wind was in a foul humor that day. It rampaged as we tried to climb over the slickrock, pelting sand into our faces and adding another layer of difficulty to our ascent. Not only did we have to work much harder to pedal against the wind, we also had to struggle to keep our bikes stable as the persistent gusts threatened to blow us off our precarious trail. We weren’t entirely successful in this ongoing battle. As I was traversing some tricky rock the wind literally knocked me and my bike over. That cunning wind! Jason was more than willing to give up at that point but I wasn’t about to let that obstinate breeze whip me. He was glad we had stuck with it when we reached Hidden Canyon though. We got to enjoy its spectacular fiery sandstone ebbs and precipices in complete solitude. The ride back from Hidden Canyon was a cinch. The wind that had made our outgoing trip needlessly difficult aided us on our way back. We flew over the slickrock carried by gravity and the turbulent air. A small cactus growing in the middle of the trail made for a temporary setback when I unknowingly stepped on it but after some quick needle removal we were on our way again.

Hidden Canyon was a stunning and chaotic blend of brillliant oranges and reds. We got to marvel
Hidden Canyon was a stunning and chaotic blend of brilliant oranges and reds. We got to marvel at its edge without a single being to disturb our awe.
Jason paused on our way back from Hidden Canyon to illustrate that he had conquered.
Jason paused on our way back from Hidden Canyon to illustrate that he had conquered.

We took a break from all that biking by enjoying an afternoon hiking in Arches National Park. The wind was our temperamental companion at Arches as well. It made the 90+ temps quite comfortable but we were relentlessly bombarded by airborne sand as we explored. Oh well, a little grit in the eyes and ears never hurt anyone too much.

Viewing the graceful and puzzling curves of Delicate Arch was worth facing the blasts of wind that rupped across the plateau it remarkably ascends from.
Viewing the graceful and puzzling curves of Delicate Arch was worth facing the blasts of wind that ripped across the plateau it remarkably ascends from.
Double Arch is one of my favorite spots in Arches
Double Arch is one of my favorite spots in Arches and it's as good of a place as any for Jason to act silly in front of the camera.
Balanced Rock is one of the many gravity-defying oddities at Arches. How does it do that?
Balanced Rock is one of the many gravity-defying oddities at Arches. How does it do that?
The North and South Window arches toegther form
The North and South Window arches together form "the spectacles" from their backsides. Jason whined a bit when I requested that we take the long way around so we could view them from this angle. Poor boy! How could a wife be so cruel?

It was a crazy and delightful trip! We returned home sunburned, sand burned, scraped, bruised, and exhausted. I got more banged up than Jason but he won the prize for the worst injury, a title he has held our last two visits to Moab. He managed to pull a back muscle somewhere in the middle of our hiking/biking frenzy and he has been hobbling around like a decrepit old man ever since we arrived home.

Rachel May 27, 2010 No Comments
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